


Breathe In (Inhaler)

by abbyisnotcool



Series: Reunions (It) [1]
Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Richie Tozier, Fluff, Gay, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, M/M, Mentions of Sex, Reddie, Reunion Fic, This was meant to be sad, but i made it happy ur welcome, chapter 2, inhaler, nobody dies!!!! HAPPY, pennywise is dead, plz save richie, this was supposed to be really sad, you are allowed to think that Pennywise is dead if you want that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 16:03:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13639611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abbyisnotcool/pseuds/abbyisnotcool
Summary: Richie had always carried an Inhaler around.Its been with him.... since he was a child. He always remembers having it. Carrying it to school, always making sure to have it. But he's never had asthma, never had breathing problems.It didn't make sense.(This was meant to be really sad, but its not ur welcome)





	Breathe In (Inhaler)

Richie had always carried an Inhaler around.

Its been with him.... since he was a child. He always remembers having it. Carrying it to school, always making sure to have it. But he's never had asthma, never had breathing problems.

It didn't make sense.

He remembers flipping out if he didn't have it, buying new ones when it ran out. Hell, his dad flipped at him for stealing his money for a new one. Richie remembers heavy breathing, and holding someone to look at him, urging to put the inhaler in his mouth.

But it wasn't him. It was someone else.

He remembers brown eyes and a warm smile. The person holding him as he cried from cuts from the bottle his dad had smashed. 

On late nights, he remembered soft hands from too much hand sanitizer, a fanny pack, and a voice yelling at him to stop calling him....something. Never clear. Some days its worse, where all Richie feels is pain when he thinks of this person, and the inhaler that he carried.

He still carries it. Always empty, never a new one. He shouldn't even have it with him, and he should throw the damn thing out.

But he doesn't. He holds it close, and whenever he tries to throw it out, he thinks of those brown eyes, and loving someone so much it hurt.

So he walks away with the inhaler every time.

He does a skit about it, talking about his attachment to the inhaler. 

" _Does anyone have one thing they are attached to?_ " he sees murmurs in the crowd of acknowledgement. He cracks a couple of jokes about it being his dick, or something like that.

" _Mine is really strange...its an inhaler._ " People laugh, like they know him. He has asthma they assume.

" _I don't have asthma though...I have never had asthma in my life... i can't get rid of the inhaler though._ " The room gets quiet. His sentence was more sad then funny. Richie shakes it off and moves forward with the show.

He doesn't forget it though.

Every single time someone breathes heavily, his hands fly to it. Like its instinctual. He laughs it off every time, but  _it bothers him._

One time, he was with a couple of co-workers, telling them about the inhaler. They started laughing.

”Well that sounds real stupid, Richie.” One of them, Rebecca, snorts at the thought. Richie laughs a little too. It’s kinda funny.

”Yeah, like, why do you even fucking have it? Like throw it out.” Dave laughs along. Richie starts to feel uncomfortable.

”Haha... I would, but I can’t. I got this weird uh... attachment to it. I don’t think I could ever let it go.” Richie states, a little bit sadly. The room gets quiet. He then hears a scoff.

”Well here.” Rebecca grabs the inhaler, and turns her way towards the trash can. But before she can, Richie grabs her wrist. _Hard._ She lets out some form of shriek. Everyone in the room is ready to yell at Richie, but then they look at his face.

His eyes are...wild. It looks like he did it as a reflex. It doesn’t look like him. A younger version, maybe. The way his face is scrunched up. He stands, looming over her. All 6’4’ of him. Rebecca gulps.

” _Let. Go._ ” She hands the inhaler back to him. He immediately snaps back. He looks around to all his co-workers, and looks at their faces. His shoulders cave in on himself.

”I’m have to go.” He mutters. He leaves without saying another word. 

That wasn’t the only time it had happened.

The inhaler is like an itch he can't scratch, like its something he's forgetting. Every time, it's brown eyes, and red shorts and a stupid fucking fanny pack. A beeping at the back of his head everyday at a certain time, like a reminder for something. Bloody hands, screaming, grasping at a face,  _look at me!_  

He sees a soft smile, being handed ice cream, someone telling him to shut up, mom jokes, brown hair, freckles, tugging at his hair, cuddling on cold nights, crying from either Richie or the person, kissing, sex, telling a promise, a fucking promise too _never forget me Richie, please I love you too much_.

He remembers saying ' _I promise_ ' back, like he fucking knew he would never fucking remember.

Sometimes he imagines the person dying, arm ripped off. He's almost 40 now, and Richie thinks he'd remember someone dying.

But, he does remember one thing about his childhood. Standing in a circle, and promising to come back after 27 years.

When he got the phone call from Mike, everything clicked.

And that’s why he was standing in Derry.

Walking around the familiar path ways, he sees many old places that have been renewed. The Aladdin is now a Denny's (what the fuck) and the old pharmacy has become a shutdown parking lot. Screw Greta and her dad anyway.

He's standing at the Quarry now, remember the summers he used to spend here. He can't remember any of his friends faces, and who they were. Probably assholes. He took out the inhaler, and stared at it.

He had so many questions. Why does he feel like this with it? Who is the person? He stares at it until he hears a voice.

" _Richie_." He thinks its a fan for a good second, he turns around preparing to smile. He freezes.

Those warm brown eyes, that fucking face. Floppy brown hair, and  _oh god its all coming back to him_.

Everything. All his friends, laughing and looking at the stars, holding his hand, his first time with him,  _It_ , dancing to Africa by Toto, and....the stupid fucking asthma.

He drops the Inhaler.

" _Eddie_." he breathes. He takes a shaky step forward, and then Eddie is crashing into him, arms around his neck. He breathes in his scent, and he's crying now. He's sobbing, fuck they're on the ground crying.

"I'm so sorry I'm so fucking sorry i broke our promise-" Eddie grabs him by the face. He's laughing, and he has fucking glasses now. How could he get cuter?

"It's okay, it's okay we're here now." they're laughing, noses pressed together. Richie is staring at him, and he grabs the inhaler from behind. He holds it out for Eddie. His eyes widen and he looks up in shock.

"I...I never left this behind. I always had it, 24/7. I couldn't throw it out I... I remembered you each time.. Your eyes, hands, fannypack and those red shorts _fuck_." Eddie stared at him, tears flowing. Eddie grabs something from his pockets, and holds it out as well. Richie lets out a shaky breath.

It's his old coke bottle glasses. Richie looks up at him.

"Me neither.. I couldn't. It was just you. It was only you." Eddie smiled up at him. Richie couldn't take it anymore. It was 2017 god dammit. He grabbed Eddie's face and pulled him into a bruising kiss. 

Eddie stiffened, but then leaned into the kiss, tightening his hands into Richie's curly hair. Richie set down the Inhaler, and put his arms around Eddie's waist. Soon, Eddie was pressed into the dirt, Richie pressing kisses down his throat. Eddie was breathing heavily.

"I missed you so fucking much, Eds." Richie says moving his way back to his mouth. Eddie smiles and grabs Richie's face. 

"Don't call me Eds." Richie grins and leans down.

Guess that inhaler was useful after all.

**Author's Note:**

> you can imagine Eddie doesn't die in this if you want.  
> I just want my boys to be happy


End file.
